I have tried to quit smoking so many times. I always go back to it when I can't stand the depression any longer. I could handle this if I knew the depression would go away eventually, but so far I haven't been able to go longer than a few weeks. My husband quit cold turkey about 20 years ago. He says "just do it, put it out of your mind and you will be fine in a week". I hate to break it to him, but nobody could stand to be around him for about 2 years after he quit. I am by nature a very easy going person. I don't get depressed. I may get sad if a certain situation warrants it, but then I look at all the good things in my life and I'm fine. Quitting smoking does something to my brain. The depression is awful. I used to wonder what it was all about, all the commercials for anti-depressants. I would wonder why they didn't focas on the good things instead of the bad. Now I understand.
My father died of a heart attack when he was just 59. He was a 2 pack a day smoker. My mother died from lung cancer when she was 72, she was also a 2 pack a day smoker. My aunt, also a heavy smoker, died of lung cancer at the age of 72 after surviving a massive heart attack when she was in her late 60's. I do not want to follow them down the same road.
Thanks for listening,
Diana